1) To teach people from a very young age that hunting and/or killing animals is morally wrong, or at least has very serious consequences. Disney is very pro-animal, if you haven't noticed! 2) I once heard that every Disney movie (that Walt Disney personally directed) had to include one sad / touching / moving moment, because Disney believed that the emotional highs of the movie (the happy parts) would be felt / experienced more strongly by the audience if they were preceded by an emotional low (a sad part). Almost every Disney movie ever made follows that formula. You must admit, it works. I will try to find an online source for that statement as well, though my mother has also heard it and swears it is common knowledge.